Iowa
Iowa offers a variety of nursing programs for prospective students, including the 680-bed University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, a facility that is recognized as one of the best hospitals in the United States and that is Iowa’s only comprehensive academic medical center. Iowa Lutheran Hospital, located in Des Moines, also trains nurses and has done so since 1914. Other opportunities to earn on-campus degrees in nursing include Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Allen College in Waterloo and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. Community colleges also provide students with the desired requirements for certifications and undergraduate degrees.
Statewide, the average salaries for LPN, RN and specialty nurses range between $14,000 and $77,000 annually, depending upon degree earned, years in the field, expertise and size of the health facility. Most of Iowa’s hospitals are located in Davenport and Des Moines, but other major facilities can be located in Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Keokuk, Council Bluffs and other towns and cities throughout Iowa. Although the University of Iowa facility represents one of the largest health care employers in this state, Iowa Lutheran Hospital also has a long history of serving the Des Moines community. Iowa Lutheran is home to Iowa’s largest private hospital-based mental health facility, and its Powell Chemical Dependency Center has been a leader in Iowa and across the nation in developing treatment programs for chemically affected people. This state is proud of its community-based hospital system, which consists of 117 hospitals linked through the Iowa Hospital Association. Additionally, according to a recent study published by Press Ganey Associates Inc., Iowa hospitals were the quickest in the country to provide emergency medical attention, followed by Nebraska, South Dakota and Vermont.
